


Through Fire and Trial

by FruitfulMind



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Jim has two soulmates, M/M, there is a scene Harvey gets injured
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-08-22 15:28:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8290912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FruitfulMind/pseuds/FruitfulMind
Summary: A person wears the name of their soulmate on their body. They are connected on a level with this person more than any other; their pain, is their soulmate's. For Jim Gordon, he's always been excited to meet his. Then fifteen hit, and that excitement had lost its flair.





	

He was nine when his soulmate's name appeared.

 

It wasn't there when he went to bed that night, only when he'd awaken and started getting ready for school did he notice the strange name scrawled in dark brown writing; it was the same color of toast his father had burnt.

 

"Mom, mom look!" Jim excitedly ran down the stairs, into the kitchen where his mother was making breakfast. His arm swung excitedly as he tried desperately for her attention.

 

She wasn't surprised that he'd gotten his first so young; she had heard stories of people finding theirs as young as six, or as old as forty-five. It wasn't the name, it didn't ring a bell; Oswald. What a strange name for a child.

 

They celebrated the day with ice cream and video games; what nine year-old didn't like that? Jim recalled the memory fondly.

 

And then, fifteen came.

 

Jim loathed when he was in the middle of an assignment, when he had to take a moment to remind himself to breathe. No one told you how bad the pain would be, when your soulmate got hurt. Others said it stung, that it was a dull, throbbing ache that traveled around your whole being; Jim equated it with getting teeth pulled -- without a sedative.

 

The pain would slowly start at his back, it'd travel up his spine, and down to his toes; it was the worst, agonizing feeling, and worse than any burn. When it first struck, he cried for his mother. He hadn't done that since after his father's death. He felt weak, like there was nothing to be done for his soulmate.

 

He slowly got more use to it over time. Over time, he only needed to diverge himself from the pain; be it gritting his teeth, or balling his fist so tight he heard the wood from his pencil crack, it helped. Teachers and students alike would send him sympathetic looks. He was a bit embarrassed by it, but he never thought having a soulmate was a bad thing. He hurt from the pain, of course. But, he wondered if the other felt it as bad as he did, too.

 

Jim thought nothing of the pain when it started once more, he tried his best to grit through the pain; but, something caught his and others eyes.

 

"No way! You got another name? I thought those only happened in movies!" One of his friends said, grabbing at Jim's hand; Jim did little to protest. The name across dancing across his wrist, one Jim would never forget.

 

Why did it have to be such a common name for his soulmate? At least Oswald was unique. Jim could name a few dozen Harveys on his left hand. Whoever he was, he wanted to have a few words with them. He desperately tried for the rest of his high school years, searching forums to find the missing pieces that were his soulmates.

 

Of course, not everyone was as accepting as his mother and friends were; jealous people would come into Jim's life every once in a while, spouting of how selfish he was for having more than one soulmate. Jim ignored them, for the most part. Other times, he could understand where they were coming from. Was he selfish, when so many people were trying to find love in this world? Was he in the wrong?

 

But every new Harvey that came into his life could have been the one, he'd just need to find them. Even if they weren't his, he was happy they may find their soulmate. It was a lot easier than just searching around, waiting.

 

Maybe that's what it would end up being; Jim spending the rest of his life searching for his soulmates, only never to find them. The doubt tickled the back of his mind, always there. Jim chose to ignore it. Deciding no more, Jim enlisted in the army. It was a sound idea, as it took his mind off of his soulmate. In the mean time, he could protect others. Perhaps that's why he decided to join the police force in the end; or perhaps it was fate? He chuckled at this, earning a strange look from his boss.

 

"And this will be your partner, Harvey Bullock. Harvey, this is Jim Gordon." She said, introducing the two men. Harvey was a bulky man, who would be intimidating in the right circumstances. He shot Essen a look, sticking his hand out for Jim. The two shared a handshake; Jim thought nothing of the way his hand tingled after. Why would he? He'd long forgotten the soulmates.

 

"Nice to meet you, kid." Harvey joked. "New in Gotham?"

 

"Nah," Jim breathed out. It felt good being back in Gotham, as corrupt as it was. "Been out for a while. Figured it was time." He looked over to Harvey's desk, spying his own close by.

 

"Well, lets see what we can do for you." The two men got to work, solving cases, finding thieves, murderers, and the occasional supervillain who liked altering bodies.

 

Jim wasn't sure why he liked Harvey so much. The guy was rude at times, though always played it off in good humor. He was stubborn, which Jim admired. But something always drew Jim to the man.

 

Then, one day it all clicked. Harvey was surrounded, random bust gone wrong. Jim wasn't sure what would happen, he feared the worst; the pain that suddenly developed. Pain he hadn't felt since the army. But it wasn't like the pains then -- no. This was the pain of a soulmate hurt. His arm ached, not in the usual spot, but down towards his hands -- his wrist. His wrist ached something fierce, he almost wanted to seize up, curl in a ball, and die. _Harvey..._  Harvey, Harvey was in pain.

 

As if almost in clockwork, the wounded cry of his partner echoed on the brick walls of Gotham. Harvey **was** in pain. His Harvey was hurt. Jim found the strength to push himself off the ground, staggering through the blistering pain towards the cries. Raising his gun up, he commanded the criminal to stop. The man kept going, staggering in an almost drunken haze; Jim fired. Not to wound, but to warn. Once the man was dealt with, he staggered forward, finally crashing beside Harvey. Jim went to touch him, hands becoming tainted with warm, crimson blood. Harvey's blood.

 

"Don't you die on me," he commanded softly, trying to stop the bleeding. No matter how dark his hands became, he continued applying pressure on the wound. "Don't die on me, Harvey." He did **not** waste all this time just to have his soulmate die on him.

 

Harvey laughed, his face beginning to slowly pale from the loss of blood. "You know the ironic thing," Harvey coughed, his eyes beginning to lose their color as they dulled. "Fucker shot me." Just as Jim went to reply, Harvey looked into his eyes. "Right on your name. That's hilarious." He laughed, wincing. No doubt he regretted that.

 

"You're staying right here, you hear me." Jim commanded again, his eyes threatened to brim with tears. He didn't remember his body being dragged away, if the sirens were on or off when they took Harvey, or if they took him in a body bag. Was he out for a day? Or maybe more? Jim wasn't good with time. Maybe he drove himself to the hospital, maybe someone took him. All he knew was Harvey's name didn't disappear from his arm; the man had pulled through. Jim's name was scarred, however.

 

"You know the weird thing is, I never guessed my soulmate would be you." Harvey commented. Jim's eyes broke away from the man's side. "I mean, don't get me wrong. You're a handsome guy, but you're like a brother to me."

 

Jim chuckled, "So I don't have a shot, huh?" He felt the same way. Maybe sometimes soulmates are just friends.

 

"You don't get to kiss this glorious face." The man teased him, pouting his lips in a mock of a kiss. "It's a shame," he sipped from the water on his tableside. "I know."

 

Rolling his eyes, Jim chuckled deeply. The older man could be a real card at times, no wonder why the two were soulmates. Jim did wonder if at any time, he would meet the other, and if it would be the same story. _Just soulmate friends..._

 

The man with the name on his forearm was not what Jim was expecting however. And Oswald could say the same for Jim; a police officer of all things!

 

"I'd always search forums," Oswald cooed to Jim as he assessed him, looking over his (rather poor) taste of clothing, his neatly cut hair, that jawline. "I'd search all day; it was becoming an obsession, really." Oswald cleaned the hilt of Fish Mooney's umbrella of any smudges, admiring his distorted reflection. "Always wondering when I would finally meet my Jim. And look!" He smiled to Jim, looking over the other again; he really could do better with clothing, perhaps Oswald could help him out. "Here you are."

 

"Freaky... Your soulmate is the Penguin of all people?" Harvey stagewhispered to Jim, moving by his side. He was already starting to feel protective of his soulmate.

 

Oswald's chest puffed, partly because of pride, partly to make himself look more intimidating for Jim. "Oswald Cobblepot," he corrected himself. "I'm sorry, they call me Penguin around here." He smiled to Jim, shrugging his shoulders. "A bit of a nickname, if you will."

 

"Right..." Jim swallowed, being in the same room as the man left him feeling parched, his eyes once again taking in the other's figure. "Well, if you see Mooney, let us know?"

 

"Right you will -- I expect I'll be seeing you again, Detective Jim Gordon!" Oswald said as he showed the both of them off. He would be, he had planned on it.

 

But, he didn't think the last time he'd see him would be the harbor with Jim's gun to his head. Oswald stared the barrel of the gun down, his look of fear practically breaking Jim's heart. He moved closer to the man.

 

"Never come back to Gotham," he said; Oswald braced for death, almost welcoming it. He yearned for his mother, would they tell her? What would she say--

 

**Bang.**

 

When Jim heard the splash, his forearm blazed warm again, his grip of the trigger of the gun tightening. Oswald wasn't dead, Jim was sure of it. He was dead to Jim however, the man practically begging him not to return the Gotham. His name on his arm was a reminder -- and little did he know, their bond was just beginning to grow.


End file.
